Shoemaking



I Nov. 5, 1940. K. A. STRITTER SHOEMAKING Filed July 8, 1940 Patented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,220,555 SHOEMAKING Karl A. Stritter, Nahant, Mass. Application July 8, 1940, Serial No. 344,317 4 Claims. .(Ol. 36-19) This invention relates to shoemaking and is particularly directed to a novel andimproved treatment of outsoles by the practice of which shoes can be made by a simple and inexpensive method, which are equal in appearance and wearing qualities to shoes made by more expensive methods. For example, shoes having solid edge, superior wearing qualities and appearance of welt shoes can be made by the McKay process.

It is a common expedient in shoemaking to channel the tread surface of an outsole to raise a flap or lip and to form a stitch-receiving groove beneath it. The channel flap is cemented back in place after the stitching step in attaching the sole to the shoe bottom. If the channel flap extends to the edge of the sole, it is likely to loosen and become noticeable and thus to detract from the wear as well as the appearance of the shoe after a relatively short period.

An object of the present invention is to provide a shoe having a solid edged outsole attached by a concealed McKay seam, carrying a welt next the upper and exhibiting in its tread surface within the margin of the sole a line of stitching similar in appearance to the lock stitch outseam by which the outsole is always attached to the welt in a Goodyear welt shoe.

To this end my invention is characterized by channeling an outsole and forming simultaneously, or at least in the same operation, with the channeling step a groove adjacent to the root of the channel and a parallel groove in the tread surface of the sole which bounds or terminates the free edge of the channel flap. By simultaneously forming the two grooves and the channel flap accurate spacing of the grooves and precise alignment of the outer edge of the channel flap with the outer groove is secured.

An important feature of the invention consists in concealing or masking the channel flap by aligning the inner wall of the outer groove and the free edge of the flap which, 01' course, completely covers the inner groove.

These and other objects and features of my invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of an outsole treated according to my invention,

Fig. 2 is a view in cross section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a view in bottom plan showing the completed shoe,

Fig. 4 is a view in cross section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective showing a preferred method of treating the outsole, and

Fig. 6 is a view in cross section showing an 6 alternative embodiment of the invention. a

In practicing the invention I first provide an outsole to of leather having a suitable shape and cut from leather or other suitable outsole material. In the outer or tread surface of the outsole I0 I provide a shallow groove l2 spaced within and parallel to the edge of the sole around its entire margin with the exception of the rear portion of the heel seat. Parallel to the groove l2 and spaced inwardly therefrom I cut a deeper 15 groove It. A lip or channel flap I6 is cut so that its root lies slightly inside thegroove and its outer or free edge is a continuation of the inside wall of the outer groove l2. The flap I6 is preferably raisedas it is cut so that the inner groove 20 It will be exposed to view, although the flap. may be lifted or turned in a subsequent step.

To the upper margin of the outsole l0 I'stitch a bevelled welt I8, forming a seam 20 which is buried in the stitch-receiving groove l2. When 25 an upper 22 has been lasted to an insole 24 by any of the conventional methods, a bottom filler 26 is applied to the forepart of the lasted shoe inside the overlasted margins of the upper 22 so that a fiat surface is presented on the bottom 30 of the shoe for the reception of an outsole.- The last is removed and the outsole I0 is stitched to the lasted shoe by a seam 28 which passes through the insole 24, the overlasted margin of the upper 22, and is buried in the inner groove 35 I 4 on the tread surface of the outsole 10. The 4 channel flap I6 is .then cemented down, and the shoe is subjected to a beating-out operation which irons the flap i 6 down so that its existence cannot be detected by observation. The edge of 0 the channel flap l6 lies in the same plane as the insidewall of. the outer groove l2, and is effectively hidden by the seam 20 which fills the groove l2. A heel 32 is then secured to the shoe and covers up the rear ends of the grooves l2 and I4 and the channel flap l6. A sock lining 30 is cemented over the inner surface of the insole and effectively conceals the top of the seam 28.

The resulting shoe presents a welt and-a conventional welt lock stitch seam, and the fact that the shoe was made essentially by the McKay process cannot be determined unless the sock lining is removed or the channel flap l6 lifted up.

An important feature of the invention is the fact I Y 2 2,220,555 that the edge of the sole is solid, in contrast to constructions where the channel flap is co-incident at its free edge with the edge of the sole. This isv important because the edge of a sole is subjected to more wear than the other portions thereof, and a channel flap which is co-terminous with the edge of the sole becomes noticeable after a short period of wear, and the appearance of the shoe rapidly deteriorates.

The sequence of the assembling operations is not of great importance. The channel flap It can be cemented down any time after the seam 28 has been formed. The construction may be varied, as for example y si a midsole in place of a welt.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated one manner in which the channel and grooving operations may be conveniently carried out. It is advantageous if the groove l2 and the channel flap l8 can l2. Accordingly, I provide a groover 34 of conventional form maintained slightly in advance of a conventional channeling knife or flap cutting tool 36 having a vertical shank and a transverse blade. Slightly behind the knife 36 I set a second groover 38 which cuts the groove I4. I have notshown the general organization of the machine for cutting the grooves and the flap, since the cutting instrumentalities 34, 38 and 38 may conveniently be organized in one of the conventional channeling machines commonly used in shoe factories, and the machine forms no part of my invention. The grooves of the channel might, of course, be cut by hand. Although the grooves and the channel flap may be formed independently, I have found that it is highly advantageous to form all three simultaneously. However, the second or outer groove I! may be formed simultaneously with the operation of stitching a welt to a shoe previously united by a McKay seam in the inner groove. Likewise the channel flap l6 may be extended to cover the outer groove l2. The grooving and channeling may, if desired, be carried completely around the heel seat.

Fig. 6 shows a slightly modified form of the invention utilizing a midsole instead of a welt. An outsole I! is provided with spaced grooves 4| and 42 and a channel flap 44 covering the inner groove 4|. A midsole 40 is stitched to the outsole I! by a seam 43 buried in the outer open groove 42. After the outsole 39 and midsole 40 have been united, they are stitched to a lasted shoe by a McKay seam buried in the groove 4|. The edge of the midsole 40 has the appearance of a welt in the finished shoe.

Having now disclosed my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a shoe-including an insole, an outsole and a welt, the combination of a channel flap spaced from the edge of the outsole and parallel thereto, a stitch-receiving groove disposed ad- Jacent the channel flap at its root, a seam buried in said groove and uniting the insole and the outsole, a second groove parallel to the first groove and having its inner side coincident with the free edge of the channel flap, and a seam securing the welt to the outsole and buried in said second groove.

2. In a shoe an insole, an outsole, a line of stitching securing together the outsole and the insole, a channel flap concealing the line of stitching on the exposed surface of the outsole, a groove parallel to the edge of the sole and coincident with the free edge of the channel flap, a welt, and a second line of stitching buried in said groove and uniting said welt to the outsole.

3. An outsole having a pair of parallel grooves opening into its tread surface parallel to the edge of the sole, and a flap covering the inner groove and having its free edge coincident with the inside edge of the outer groove.

4. An outsole having on its tread surface a relatively shallow groove parallel to and spaced from the edge of the sole, an inner groove parallel to the first groove and relatively deep, and a flap having its root at the inner side of the deep groove and its free edge coincident with the inner wall of the outer groove.

KARL A. S'I'RI'I'I'ER. 

